A Beautiful Mind
A
mathematician who goes mad is not a subject most directors consider
commercially attractive, but then Ran Howard isn’t among most directors. Despite
an impressive list of credits, A Beautiful Mind is his most successful work to
date, combining a psychological drama with a moving love story to produce a
film that is as interesting as it is entertaining.
The Oscar winning Russell Crowe has put himself in line for further honors with his acting John Nash, the Nobel Prize winning mathematician troubled by schizophrenia (精神分裂症). A Beautiful Mind pictures Nash as an unusual hero，not just because of his academic achievements but also because of the courage he displays while battling his illness．
In 1947, Nash was one of many great young minds at Princeton. “To find a truly original idea is the only way to distinguish myself,” the proud and determined student declared. His exploration of such an idea afforded him little time for the normal socializing. His shyness and straight forward approach brought him few friends.
After finally hitting on a revolutionary new idea, Nash’s career took off and his reputation as secured. He balanced research work with teaching, which is where he met the bright and beautiful student Alicia (played by Jennifer Connelly). Things in his life were going well when his talent for code breaking brought him to the attention of the military that employed him during the early stage of the cold war with Russia. However, the stress of his work made Nash’s illness develop．
Crowe’s performance is perfect. He and Connelly ignite (make something exciting) the film’s passionate love story and Connelly’s wonderful performance makes the audience moved by Alicia, whose courage, strength and faith in her husband are the primary reasons for his recovery.
1.This passage is most probably ________．
A. a book review B. a movie review C. a movie poster D. an advertisement
2.Which can replace the underlined phrase “hitting on” in the fourth paragraph?
A. coming up with B. coming on C. putting on D. putting up with
3. The following statements are true EXCEPT that _______．
A. John Nash did not go mad totally
B. Ran Howard is an outstanding director
C. the stress of the academic work caused Nash’s illness
D. Nash’s concentration on his work and his shyness brought him few friends
4. We can infer from the text that _______．
A. John Nash volunteered to serve in the army in spite of his illness
B. John Nash gave up his career when troubled by schizophrenia
C. Russell Crowe won another Oscar Award after this movie
D. without Alicia, John Nash wouldn’t have recovered from his illness
Reading poems is not exactly an everyday activity for most people. In fact, many people never read a poem once they get out of high school.
It is worth reminding ourselves that this has not always been the case in America. In the nineteenth century, a usual American activity was to sit around the fireplace in the evening and read poems aloud. It is true that there was no television at the time, nor movie theatres, nor World Wide Web, to provide diversion. However, poems were a source of pleasure, of self-education, of connection to other people or to the world beyond one’s own community. Reading them was a social act as well as an individual one, and perhaps even more social than individual. Writing poems to share with friends and relations was, like reading poems by the fireside, another way in which poetry had a place in everyday life.
How did things change? Why are most Americans no longer comfortable with poetry, and why do most people today think that a poem has nothing to tell them and they can do well without poems?
There are, I believe, three culprits (肇事者): poets, teachers and we ourselves. Of these, the least important is the third: the world surrounding the poem has betrayed (背叛) us more than we have betrayed the poem. Early in the twentieth century, poetry in English headed into directions hostile (不利的) to the reading of poetry. Readers decided that poems were not for the fireside or the easy chair at night, that they belonged where other difficult-to-read things belonged.
Poets failed the readers, so did the teachers. They want their students to know something about the craft (技巧) of a poem, and they want their students to see that poems mean something. Yet what usually occurs when teachers push these concerns on their high school students is that young people decide poems are unpleasant crossword puzzles.
1. Reading poems is thought to be a social act in the nineteenth century because _______.
A. it built a link among people B. it helped unite a community
C. it was a source of self-education D. it was a source of pleasure
2.The underlined word “diversion” in Paragraph 2 most probably means _______.
A. diversity B. change C. amusements D. happiness
3.In the last paragraph, the writer questions _______.
A. the difficulty in studying poems
B. the way poems are taught in school
C. students’ wrong ideas about poetry
D. the techniques used in writing poems
4.According to the passage, what is the main cause of the great gap between readers and poetry?
A. Poems have become difficult to understand.
B. Students are poorly educated in high school.
C. TV and the Internet are more attractive than poetry.
D. Students are becoming less interested in poetry.
A gentle breeze blew through Jennifer’s hair. The golden red sun was setting. She was on the beach, looking up at the fiery (火红的) ball. She was amazed by its color, deep red in the middle, softly fading into yellow. She could hear nothing but the waves and the seagulls flying up above in the sky.
The atmosphere relaxed her. After all she had been through, this was what she needed. “It’s getting late,” she thought, “I must go home. My parents will be wondering where I am.”
She wondered how her parents would react, when she got home after the three days she was missing. She kept on walking, directing herself where she spent every summer holiday. The road was deserted. She walked slowly and silently. Just in a few hundred meters she would have been safe in her house.
It was really getting dark now. The sun had set a few minutes before and it was getting cold too. She wished she had her favorite sweater on: it kept her really warm. She imagined having it with her. This thought disappeared when she finally saw her front door. It seemed different. Nobody had taken care of the outside garden for a few days. She was shocked: her father was usually so strict about keeping everything clean and tidy, and now... It all seemed deserted. She couldn’t understand what was going on.
She entered the house. First, she went into the kitchen where she saw a note written by her father. It said: “Dear Ellen, there is some coffee ready. I went looking.” Ellen was her mother but — where was she? On the right side of the hallway was her parents’ room. She went in. Then she saw her. Her mother, lying on the bed, was sleeping. Her face looked so tired, as if she hadn’t slept for days. She was really pale. Jennifer would have wanted to wake her up but she looked too tired. So Jennifer just fell asleep beside her. When Jennifer woke up, something was different... she wasn’t in her mother’s room and she wasn’t wearing the old clothes she ran away in. She was in her cozy bed in her pajamas (睡衣).
It felt so good being back home. Suddenly she heard a voice, “Are you feeling better now, dear? You know you got us very, very scared.”
1. The writer describes the beautiful sunset to show Jennifer’s ______.
A. love of the natural beauty B. desire of getting back home
C. intention of becoming independent D. depression of being alone
2. What does the underlined phrase “This thought” most probably mean?
A. The idea of going back home.
B. Her anxiety about her parents.
C. The feeling of being warm in her favorite sweater.
D. The feeling of getting back home safely.
3.Her father didn’t take care of the garden because ______.
A. he was busy looking for her
B. he had to look after his wife
C. he was not strict with his job
D. he no longer enjoyed working in the garden
4.What can we infer from this passage?
A. In fact Jennifer’s mother had been sick for several days.
B. When she found the garden deserted, she realized she was wrong.
C. As Jennifer walked towards home, she became increasingly scared.
D. Having experienced a lot outside, Jennifer felt home was safest for her.
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，从每题所给的A、B、C、D 四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
I remember my dad teaching me the power of language at a very young age.
One fairly interesting event happened when I was eight. As a kid, I was always climbing trees, poles, and __31__ around upside down from the rafters (房梁) of our house. So, it __32__ to no surprise for my dad to __33__ me at the top of a 30-foot tree swinging back and forth. Without realizing the tree could break or I could get __34__, I just thought it was__35__ to be up so high.
My cousin, Tammy, was in the same tree. She was hanging on the first big __36__ about ten feet below me. Tammy’s mother also __37__ us at the exact time my dad did. About that time a huge gust of wind came over the tree and I could feel the tree begin to sway. I remembered my dad’s __38__ over the wind yelling, “Bart, __39__ on tightly.” So I did.
The next thing I know, I heard Tammy __40__ at the top of her lungs, __41__ flat on the ground. She had fallen out of the tree.
I came down the tree to __42__. My dad later told me why Tammy fell and I didn’t. __43__, when Tammy’s mother felt the wind, she yelled out, “Tammy, don’t __44__!” And Tammy did do that.
My dad then __45__ to me that the mind has a very __46__ time dealing with a negative image. In order to deal with the __47__ of not falling, Tammy’s brain had to first imagine falling, and then tell the brain not to do what it just imagined. However, my eight-year-old brain __48__ had an internal image of hanging on tightly.
This “Self-Talk” is especially useful when you are __49__ to break a habit or set a goal. You can’t imagine not doing something in your mind. The only way to accomplish it is to find a word for what you want to do.
I’m now a pretty good football player, because all my internal dialogue is __50__ and encourages me to win. All this I owe to my dad.
1. A. walking B. hanging C. fooling D. playing
2.A. got B. turned C. came D. led
3.A. meet B. admire C. forbid D. find
4. A. trapped B. hurt C. teased D. scolded
5. A. fun B. tense C. scaring D. dizzy
6. A. root B. trunk C. branch D. tree
7.A. warned B. joined C. watched D. noticed
8. A. sound B. voice C. wave D. laughter
9. A. hold B. come C. go D. insist
10.A. whispering B. laughing C. screaming D. singing
11. A. lying B. sitting C. standing D. looking
12. A. anxiety B. safety C. thrill D. sympathy
13. A. Apparently B. Unbearably C. Vividly D. Unbelievably
14. A. move B. jump C. fall D. sway
15. A. apologized B. admitted C. referred D. explained
16. A. difficult B. awesome C. precise D. special
17.A. fear B. command C. reward D. possibility
18. A. deliberately B. constantly C. gradually D. instantly
19.A. failing B. attempting C. managing D. hoping
20.A. negative B. subjective C. positive D. vague
Not until he met with the difficulty _______ the importance of group work.
A. he realized B. did he realize C. realized he D. he didn’t realize
Mary got the first prize in the National Math Competition, ________, for sure, delighted everyone.
A. who B. that C. this D. which
